Michael Earney - The a to Z Book of Birds. An ABC for Young Bird Lovers

The A to Z Book of Birds

An ABC for Young Bird Lovers

By Michael P. Earney

Cover watercolor painting of Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannidae) and Red-necked Grebe (Podicipedidae) by Michael Earney.

Cover design, book design and layout by Michael Earney and Lynn Amos.

The A to Z Book of Birds An ABC for Young Bird Lovers

The A to Z Book of Birds

An ABC for Young Bird Lovers

By Michael P. Earney

The A to Z Book of Birds An ABC for Young Bird Lovers

Copyright 2014 by Michael P. Earney. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

Worldwide Publishing Group is committed to excellence in the publishing industry.

Published in the United States of America

eBook: 978-1-312-51424-9

Paperback: 978-1-312-51421-8

Hardcover: 978-1-312-51423-2

JUVENILE NONFICTION / Animals / Birds

E-Book Distribution: XinXii
www.xinxii.com

Dedication:

For Miles and Elowen

Acknowledgements:

M

y thanks to all the family and friends that fed and housed me during the process of producing this book. For input and encouragement, T.J. Cole, Jason Muoz, Carol Elliott, my son Miles for introducing me to birding, all the bird illustrators before me, and especially thanks to Lynn Amos for getting the whole thing into the excellent (if I do say so myself) form it now has.

Michael Earney August 9, 2014

T

he fossilized skeleton of a bird about the size of a crow, found in a Bavarian limestone quarry, has been determined to have lived one-hundred and forty-million years ago. It is estimated that between that time and the present up to two million species of birds existed. They have been gradually declining ever since. There are now approximately eight-thousand seven-hundred species . The spread of human beings to every corner of the globe has had the most devastating effect on bird populations: birds are shot, trapped, snared, or otherwise exterminated; their habitat destroyed or invaded and exploited. The amazing diversity and beauty of birds will continue to fascinate us, even as they disappear. Those that call themselves bird-lovers will hopefully make the effort to see that, as individuals, they influence their families, neighbors, corporations and governments to preserve wildlife and their habitat, and know that in so doing they are contributing to the betterment of all life on the planet.

A

lbatrosses glide on the winds of the oceans, their long narrow wings allow them to stay aloft for months alighting only to feed and drink (they drink seawater). Of the 13 species only three breed north of the equator, but over half a million Laysan Albatrosses nest on the outer-most islands of Hawaii where they were slaughtered for feathers to stuff pillows and mattresses. To stop this President Theodore Roosevelt designated these islands a wildlife preserve in 1909. The Short-tailed Albatross, largest in the North Pacific has a wingspan reaching 13 feet. Almost wiped out by plume hunters, this rare bird now nests again on Torishima Islet, south of Tokyo.

Cool Fact : In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, after a sailor kills an albatross the wind drops and the ship cannot sail; the sailors begin to die of thirst. The sailor blamed for this disaster has the dead bird hung around his neck as punishment. Having an albatross around ones neck means feeling guilt, shame or anxiety.

What other birds names start with A ?

B

ooby comes from the Spanish bobo , dunce. They were called this because they never seemed to learn that man is their enemy. There is the Brown Booby, the Blue-faced Booby, the Blue-footed and the Red-footed, plus two others. Like many seabirds, boobies plunge from great heights for fish. Though they have very strong necks, it is the air sacs under their skin that cushion the impact of their dives. Instead of spearing fish with their straight sharp bills, they seize them from beneath as they return to the surface . When they landed on sailing ships they were easily caught and eaten by hungry sailors.

Cool Fact: Unlike its relatives, who nest on bare rock, the Red-footed B ooby builds its nest in the treetops and feeds not by day but by night on flying fish and squid.

What other birds names start with B ?

C

ranes have been around for 40-60 million years, they can fly over mountains, live for over 60 years and, in America, fly each year from near the Arctic Circle to Texas and back . The Whooping Crane, tallest bird in North America, was down to 15 individuals in 1937. Thanks to great effort there are now around 500, but are still highly endangered and threatened with extinction. There are 15 species worldwide. The Sarus Crane of Asia is the tallest at five feet nine inches. The beautiful Black-crowned Crane and the Demoiselle Crane are the smallest at three feet and at thirty inches, respectively . Although revered in some countries, all cranes are in danger worldwide.

Cool Fact: The orizuru (folded crane) is the most classical and probably best known of all Japanese origami. Renzuru (conjoined cranes) is multiple cranes folded from a single sheet of paper.

What other birds names start with C ?

G

rouse family members include ptarmigan and prairie chicken. All these fowl -like birds have short rounded wings that are good for short rapid flight; generally they prefer to walk. The Greater and Lesser Prairie Chicken, ptarmigan and some other grouse have quite elaborate ceremonial courting habits ; inflating bright air sacs, spreading tail feathers, raising ruffs and head feathers and strutting in their dancing grounds. It is the male Sage Grouse though, that has the most spectacular courting display with its large inflating breast air sacs. Once again , loss of habitat and hunting threatens the grouse.